Animal Group: All Animals

Arlo came to us from Gerda’s Equine Rescue in October of 2023. He had been a companion to another, older, donkey, who sadly passed away. Arlo has been thriving in our busy herd and program, loving the attention he gets, learning to be a riding donkey (he’s a super star for pony rides), and always watching everything that goes on. Of course Billy and Taquito’s hooves have created enormous shoes for Arlo to fill, but he is learning so much and is well on his way to being friends with everyone who walks through our door. He looks very much at home here, and we can’t wait to see how he continues to learn and grow!

Many of you may know, Bella is the only horse in the herd who was born at Blue Rider! That was a few years ago now; she has taught innumerable people to ride, carrying the tiniest tots with patience, and teaching new things to even the most advanced riders. She can go to gymkhanas and hunter shows, work in a drill team, and she excels at liberty work. The instructors and riders who have been here for a while often see her mother, Ramona, in her (both visually and in the way she works). Bella also helps the other horses learn to do their jobs well, and she and Svadi keep the herd safe and content. There’s nothing Bella can’t do….

Bella is now in her late twenties, which is often considered old for a horse. While Bella is in good shape for her age, she does need (and very much deserves!) a bit of extra care to keep her comfortable. In addition to regular vet and chiropractic care, she also gets regular Bemer and red-light treatments from the barn staff. She’s also one of the few horses in our herd who regularly wears a blanket in bad weather, to keep her back from getting stiff.

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Billy Boy came to us as a five year-old in 1993. He may be small, but he has an enormous capacity for caring. Although he is no longer ridden, he still teaches people about equines, still teaches about grooming and leading, and still loves to be the center of attention. Billy was Delta certified, meaning he could go into places like hospitals and nursing homes (he was even featured on Animal Planet!), and he still loves going on field trips, like our local Agway and school programs. Billy’s small size and charming personality make him ideal for anyone who is nervous about meeting horses; he is a master at quietly and subtly sneaking under an unsuspecting hand and initiating pats, scritches, and lifelong friendships, melting away any fears and reservations.

Now well into his thirties, Billy needs a little extra care to keep him happy and healthy. He needs extra dental care and special food, since it is harder for him to chew and swallow hay these days. He still loves daily brushing and attention, and he wears a blanket in cold, wet weather to keep him comfortable.

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Freyja came right after the circus in June 2022. She is a sweet, feisty Icelandic mare, who doesn’t show that she is over 20! She was donated by her owners when they moved away. Freyja has begun to find her groove in our children’s lessons. Unfortunately, we have found out that Freyja’s back is not as strong anymore. We use her for mostly child lessons and light adult lessons. She has really taken to being one of our mascots, having gone to a farmer’s market and to a school recently.

Freyja needs your support as she has Chronic Lyme which affects her joints. She is on medicine to help this and will continue to need her feet worked on.

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When he came to us in 2014, Fritz was in prolonged crisis from Equine Metabolic Syndrome (similar to diabetes in humans) and had many issues with his body and his feet because of it. At one time, we thought he couldn’t stay with us, but we have worked hard over the years to find ways to keep him happy, healthy, and able to live and work in our herd. We’ve learned a lot about managing his condition with feeding and exercise, which has also helped other horses who have come to us with or are predisposed to metabolic conditions. 

Fritz has been one of our go-to horses for lessons and therapy for many years, as he is able to carry weight, is quiet and patient, and is clear with the instructors when he feels a change or an issue with his client. He wants his independent riders to be thoughtful and precise, and while he loves jumping lessons and taking instructors on adventures, he is also strong and firm in stating his opinion when riders are not doing their part of the job.

Fritz is definitely worth his weight in gold, although he might prefer his weight in hay….

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We say that every horse (and donkey, and human) who comes into the Blue Rider herd has a job, but sometimes it’s not the job we expect. Garuda has been with us since he was five; he came with some previous injuries that we thought were healed, and we expected that he would be able to work in our lesson and therapy programs.

However, his job since he came in 2017 seems to be teaching patience and perseverance, in figuring out how to help him heal and learn to trust his body again. This has involved our chiropractor, farrier, several vets, and lots of rehabilitation work and therapies. We’re really happy to have started working with Dr. Ferraro of Millbrook Equine, who has helped us unpeel the next layer of the onion that is his past, and we’re really pleased and impressed with the work our Barn Manager, Caitlyn, has been doing with him. He is moving and looking better than ever, and we are cautiously hopeful that he will continue to improve.

Garuda was bred by a friend of Blue Rider, and carefully trained to be an endurance horse, but sometimes even the best cared-for and loved horses get injured and can’t work in the career they were meant for, and sometimes even when the horse’s whole history is known, we still have to guess why they feel and react the way they do. Caring for Garuda has taught us a huge amount, and we continue to learn from him. Seeing him as happy and comfortable as he is now is wonderful.

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Icelandic horse names tell you which country a horse is from and the farm where they were born. Hekla was born on a farm in south Iceland and raised with the herd, spending summers loose in the highlands until she started her training at four. Like many Icelandic horses, she loves snow and cold weather! Hekla especially likes winter because it brings relief from her summer eczema. Summer eczema, or sweet itch, is an allergic reaction to plants and insects that don’t exist in Iceland; it is not currently possible to know which horses will develop these allergies when they go abroad, and once a horse has left Iceland they can never return. We spend most of the year working to manage Hekla’s symptoms, and also helping her immune system learn to deal appropriately instead of making her miserably itchy. Happily, we are seeing improvement year after year, and we have a regimen of care and medications to minimize her allergic reactions.

Hekla did have some training before she came to us, but since she was only six and had started her training at four, we have gotten to watch her learn and grow so much! She was always a fun little pony with a lot of spirit (she was named after a volcano, after all), but now she shows a maturity, strength, and pride in therapy that we could only hope for. 

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Typically, horses take nine months to a year to acclimate to a new home and routine; many people want that to happen much faster, often almost immediately. Marcy shows us that, given support and time, horses never stop growing and changing, and the process of getting comfortable and confident can take years. She has been here since 2016, when she was ten, and had belonged to a Mennonite family in Pennsylvania, who used her as a driving horse. She learned to tolerate many things in her previous life, but when she started to settle in here we learned that while she was tolerant, she wasn’t really comfortable with so much. 

Marcy has many strong opinions about who is allowed to brush or even touch her, and she makes it known when she is uncomfortable with something we are asking, but she does an excellent job in therapy and certain lessons. Recently, she has grown by leaps and bounds, learning to express her discomfort in clear but non-dramatic ways, learning that grooming can feel good, learning that she has a say in her life and her job, and that she is safe. There are several factors that have been helping this change, from diet and supplements to one-on-one groundwork with Head Instructor, Becky.

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Many of you who know Mia know that when she came to us as a three year-old in 2008, we were her EIGHTH owners! That’s a lot of upheaval for a very young horse. Happily, Mia has learned in her years here that she has a home for life, and many friends, both human and equine.

Mia’s feet and body have always required extra care and attention, since she has a club foot and scoliosis. She is also prone to ulcers, and we’ve recently started looking into whether she, like some other Quarter Horses, may be more reactive to high levels of potassium, which can cause a myriad of physical issues.  With diligent attention from her girl, our Barn Manager Caitlyn, and from our farrier Keith and our veterinarians, Mia is looking and feeling better at nineteen than she has in years. She’s also showing more enthusiasm for her job than we’ve seen in a long time…

Keeping Mia looking and feeling like she does right now has been a long road and will always require more than just hard work on the part of barn staff. She is one of the few horses in our herd who wears orthotic shoes. These shoes and regular chiropractic care, as well as bodywork from our staff, are vital to keeping her happy and healthy.

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From the first day she came to Blue Rider, Mystery has won everyone over with her sweet nature. She is the largest horse in our herd, but she can be very gentle, and has beautifully soft, comfortable gaits. Before she came to us, Mystery was used as a driving and pulling horse, and as a broodmare. It took her about a year to understand her new job as a riding and therapy horse, but these days she is as solid and steady in her work as she is in her body. We had chosen her with the hope that she could fill the giant hoof prints that Twist left behind, and she is stepping up….

Mystery has some arthritis from years of hard work, and she has some skin issues that require regular grooming and medication to keep at bay. 

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